With Luck! Falkor's Story
by LstC3ltacorn
Summary: Hast thou ever wondered what lurks within the Silver Mountains? Or from where a Luckdragon does come? Read this, I ask humbly, and tell me truly where does one get luck from?
1. Stargazers Prophecy

_Here be a tale, never written in the book by the Old Man of Wandering Mountain. The book written to bring the Saviour of Fantasia and to give the Childlike Empress a new name; The Neverending Story. This story is set before Atreyu's story began but concerns an important character of that story and a very good friend of Arteyu. I have never heard or seen it written, to my disappointment, the story about Falkor before Atreyu's quest. I do strongly believe that every creature and person, in Fantasia and on Earth, deserve their own story, and so with the craft of my writing hand and with perhaps a bit of luck I give you Falkor's story and , to my joy, the time has come for you to hear it…_

**Stargazers Prophecy**

Under the gleaming stars, the wise beings of Fantasia held council. At the head of the council stood a centaur gifted with the knowledge of time. None could match him in years nor wisdom, a master of reading the skies, they simply called him Stargazer. None had lived as long as him to remember his birth name nor did he remember it himself, as was the price of his longevity, he had forgotten much of his early life. Despite this, they respected his wisdom and consulted him every year under the winter sky, but his revelations where rarely awe striking, at times he failed to predict anything at all. Some believed he had become senile in his old age.

Hours passed as he studied the constellations and numerous formations of the stars. The members of the council grew impatient and beckoned him to speak of what he read. "The stars are restless; they don't easily yield the secrets of the future. Fear not, for my skills have not failed me! Hear this and make of it what you will." So the wise centaur spoke aloud what he interoperated from his ancient scroll, the night sky,

"Lord of Horok Castle, the Seeing hand,

AURYN in the Wizards eyes of greed,

He drives beasts of magic, black metal-clad.

From the orchid forest, the carnivorous expanse….

Battle horns sound!

Trust not in shields and swords of steel,

For a blessing of luck the skies shall send thee."

Thus a prophecy was told and indeed each council member had their own opinion on the matter, wise though they all where, no two minds thought alike.

"Whoo…! The greedy wizard seeks the power of AURYN for himself! We mustn't let him have it! We should take the amulet to the highest tree top." hooted Floofheath the Owl.

"Bah! Battle horns!" scowled Hrobvorf the Dwarf King. "Our war drums will shake the earth and scare the little wizard back to his castle!"

"The Childlike Empress will protect us. No evil magic can defile the Ivory Tower. The wizard will never pass it's gates." said the blue djinn with the eagle beak.

"Naaay! These are pointless meanderings of an old goat-fish if ever I heard them!" spluttered Mermisus the sea horse, thrashing about her chalice-basin in protest and giving some nearby people quite a soaking.

And so it was debated upon as the waking morning passed and gave way to the peaking sun of noon til the day faded and the moon rose to shepherd a starry sky. It was never known if the council settled on agreement about what the prophecy meant or what action to take, but elsewhere in Fantasia another page of this story unfolded….


	2. The Grassy Ocean

**The Grassy Ocean**

A torrent of wind smoothed over the Grassy Ocean, a vast green clearing beyond the Silver Mountains. The juicy grass mimicked the voice of troubled waters as the wave of air ran over each blade, folding it flat and releasing it again to spring towards the sun. A herd of purple buffalo grazed, the sun shimmering off their silky hides. Peaceful beasts by nature, although one could only appreciate their immense size when compared to the green-skinned figures approaching them. The Grass People made this green land their home. They fearlessly advanced upon the purple crowd of beasts, wading through the grass. Arrows strung in their bowstrings, they are renowned in Fantasia for their hunting prowess. The largest of the purple buffaloes confronted the Grass People. Bobbing it's head and snorting. It stomped the ground with its front hooves preparing to charge.

The Grass People fixed their eyes on the beast seeking the best place to sink their arrowheads. The exact moment before they took action, all composure and courage was shattered. An explosion came from the Silver Mountains. A roar of a thousand war drums shook the earth, then a finishing slash of a terrible croak reinforced the blade of terror that had struck them. Bows and arrows fell to the ground as the green-skins shielded their ears. The purple buffalos shuttered then bolted in all directions with witless minds, their hooves tearing up the grass. In the frenzy of fear, a young purple buffalo was left helplessly injured on the ground.

The Grass People stood firm gathering their broken shards of bravery, picking up their weapons in defiance of their urge to cower. Their attention was caught by a shape in the sky. Their eyes endured the glare of the sun to observe a loathsome snake with bat-like wings advancing from the sky. It tore at the air with it's wings as it swung into a clumsy dive. The Grass-people drew upon their wisdom, deciding not to test this strange beast, and fell to the ground and vanished into the emerald sea, leaving no trace of their existence.

As swift as the wind the ground pulled away and sped past the young purple buffalo's eyes in a blur, blinded by black smoke. He had been snatched from the Grassy Ocean like a mouse in an owl's talons and carried toward the heavens. The purple buffalo had pain in his leg, throbbing with the rhythmic jerks up and down. A growl from the air boomed when he jerked upward, then it gave a loud whisper with the short descent. A tight grip around his chest and the air rushing his face made breathing laborious task. Gripped by an overwhelming burning smell, his head swam and his mind drifted into calm darkness…


	3. A Flash in the Night

**A Flash in the Night**

Long months have passed and all that was known to him is the sense of his own growing strength. But a curious longing has developed in his mind. In a burst of energy he became aware of the walls that encased him. Life rushed through his body and limbs, contracting all his muscles. He began to tremble as he felt a powerful furnace swell within him. A fiery spirit had woke from a deep sleep and forced his newfound strength against the hard shell that embraced him, and from the beginning of his time, had shielded him from a world yet to be discovered. Eventually it yielded to his will for freedom as it cracked and unleashed him to the world that awaited him. Cool air filled his chest and caressed his scales. His eyes opened and nourished his mind with images full of colour like the first sunrise over a blooming valley. He was in a cave entirely moulded from crystals. All of the colours of the universe radiated from the surrounding walls and roof. A quite melody sang from the sparkling stones that sounded like a metallic stream flowing, allowing his ears to dance with the joy of discovery. With all his senses he explored and became familiar with himself in the crystal cave. But the struggle to hatch from the egg tired him greatly, so he curled up and swam in dreams...

"Awake White Scales!

With joy you have filled me,

My son, a young dragon!

Your name shall be Falkor!

The Childlike Empress, creator of Fantasia….

Has named you well, she is a true friend to all"

Young Falkor ventured from the comfortable solitude of his mind and was met with the gaze of golden eyes. They radiated delightful and loving emotion. He guessed that the grizzly voice came from the great creature before him, it was many times his size. He understood the words well. "Are you my Father?" He asked. The great dragon's answer came with a spring of laughter.

"No lies I shall utter….

That dragon made a grand feast….

Your father he was indeed,

But I am your mother."

She touched her nose with his then sat back staring out at the night sky.

"To this rich new land we came,

But I must take flight alone soon,

For never has two dragons called the same place home.

I brought you prey for your first hunt,

It's blood flows warm and fresh!"

As the great dragon moved aside, Falkor spied a four legged animal with a purple hide. It was the young purple buffalo that the great dragon swept from the Grassy Ocean. Rays of moonlight beamed through the opening of the cave as the injured buffalo limped towards it. Falkor turned and glared at his mother confused. The injured beast frantically reached the cave's entrance.

"White scales!

You leave it too late!

Starve as you wish,

But my flight was long and my stomach empty!"

With a few short brisk strides, the great dragon sped toward the purple buffalo in her clumsy fashion and wrapped him in her jaws. The Purple Buffalo gave painful wail as his life was shook from his body. The dragon's teeth tore flesh from bone. Falkor watched with interest. Then sudden as a thunderbolt, the moon flashed as the land filled with white light, blotting out all the night colours. His eyes panicked with shock, but the daze soon left him to observe an empty cave, his mother was nowhere to be seen. Alone in the cave with the choir of coloured crystals, the purple buffalo had vanished as well. At that moment he was the loneliest creature in all Fantasia. Fear pulsed his heart, a feeling Falkor did not rejoice in discovering. Overcome by sorrow, he filled his lungs with air until they begged him for relief. Like a shower from a heavy rain cloud his fear and sorrow poured from his heart as he exhaled. From the depths of his throat erupted a furiously cruel flame that illuminated the cave with a golden glow. The caved echoed a chime as the glorious crystals replied to his bellowing roar. He froze all his motion, evaluating all that had just happened with deep thought…..

A smile pulled at his face. "Ha! What a fun thing!" He released playful billows of fire all about him and with the grace of a lamb leap and bound to the cave entrance. "My mother blazed the silly stumbling beast! I'm sure her fire would be brighter than mine...that's what blinded me! And she spoke of her flight - I wonder, has she flown from the cave to find more food? Next time I will show her my fire and kill the next creature she brings back"


	4. Quest for the Moon

**Quest for the Moon**

The cave, a crevice in the Silver Mountains, overlooked the Grassy Ocean. The Moonlit plain stretched beyond Falkors keen sight. As he studied the landscape, the darkness of night seemed to fade as his vision adjusted to it. Far seeing like an eagle, nocturnal and sharp like an owl, none could escape his all seeing eyes at that high point. The vast herd of purple buffalo roamed the land like a gleaming river sparkling in the glare of the moon. The Grass People slept under the stars, with their tents in a cluster about them. No other dragon was to be seen that night.

A glow at the foot of the mountain caught his attention. A tall tree sprang from the ground there that had somehow eluded him before, but now had his undue attention. A vision flashed before him. The face of the purple buffalo his mother had killed appeared and spoke with a faded ghostlike voice of a child.

"Poor Falkor! Why are you alone? Where is your mother Falkor?"

"She was gone after the flash that killed you! I think she went to get more food." replied Falkor.

"No Falkor! No! Why would she take my young life, I was no match for her! Have you dragons no honour?" The spirit's voice trembled with both anger and sorrow.

"Well if we are not allowed to eat you purple buffalo, what can we eat? I don't think I could on graze green plants like your friends down there. That looks no fun at all!" said Falkor, thinking only of how he enjoyed shooting flame from his mouth and imagining using it to kill fleeing animals. Impatient with the young dragon's ignorance, he spoke bluntly,

"Falkor, none have the right to kill a purple buffalo unless they are willing to be killed themselves. We are blessed by the spirits of the heavens. Your mother's selfish actions provoked them, so she was swept from the mountain by a diving star. She is now doomed to an eternity as a mournful star upon the moon unless one can reach it and grasp it from the sky."

"She didn't know! Tell them she didn't know!" he pleaded. "We came from a far off country in Fantasia and..."

Fear again crept upon him and froze his last words in his mouth. He sensed a lurking presence behind him. All in a second, be broke his gaze on the distant glowing tree and whipped his head round to the right. He caught the image of a creature crowned with two thick horns that spiralled outward. Its eyes flashed with fire and tongues of flame rose from it's nostrils. It's hide was a black shadow. In a wisp of rapid movement it dove beneath him and swept him onto its back with ease and galloped down the mountain. With the balance of a cat it leapt from rock to rock and with a final leap landed on the soft grass. He found himself bound to the four legged mount beneath him. The violent decent down the mountain should have thrown him from the back of the beast but he couldn't dismount even with the use of his wings . With unnatural speed it thundered over the ocean-like plain. A thought struck Falkor, that he could be driven to the very borders of Fantasia and he could do nothing to stop the tireless steed. But before he could dwell upon this and despair, the demon-like goat reared its hind legs and threw the young dragon off it's back and charged on over the lands for the rest of time.

Falkor tumbled as he hit the ground and the world raced about him. Before him was the tree he looked upon from the high point in the Silver Mountains. Now it seemed taller, sprouting like a fountain out of the Grassy-Ocean. A moat of crystal clear water surrounded it, calm as a winter lake. The tree's round lobed leaves flourished with green life. At the foot of the pale grey trunk hundreds of glowing orbs gamboled about the roots. They danced in rhythm to merry tunes from wind wood instruments played by the fairest of the little beings, with long golden hair and dressed in grass-woven outfits. The air was filled with a sweet scent and Falkor's taste buds bathed in the taste of nectar. He found himself humming to the song as the joyful notes filled his soul and soothed his racing heart. The song took flight with words, pure as autumn gold, as wings of a sleeping moth would commence it's night adventure. Soft and vibrant lyrics were carried with the breeze of mystical composition played by the Fairies.

"Trally da dee, fa la fa la

Mischievous old Pooka runs wide and far,

What's been left beneath the green tree?

Lonely little star, is he angry or scared?

If his promise isn't to harm us then better he'll fare."

Falkor sensed a stern warning behind these words but his heart was now at ease and he had no intention of hurting the fairies. As he spoke to them his words streamed from his mouth with the flow of the music. "I won't hurt you, your song stops my sadness. A star took my mother when she killed a purple buffalo." A tear drop slid down his face and fell, rippling the water of the moat. For the first time he saw his reflection in the glass-like surface of the water and stared in wonder at his white glowing features and glimmering scales.

"Trally da dee, fa la fa la,

O' tender and kind

Burning white from afar

Truly you are a newborn star

Make light your feet!

We'll help you home, to that black speckled sea!"

The flurry of tiny people fluttered across the still water and gathered all about him. They all strained their wings filling the air with a pitter-patter, sounding like a swarm of dragonflies. Then, as sure the stars are above, he was bound skyward. To the heights of the heavens he drifted. By now the music had faded in to the distance and the glowing tree was a lone lantern on an ocean horizon. For generations after, the green-skins told stories and sang songs of a star that appeared on the Grassy Ocean to chase away creatures of the darkness and then went home to live among the stars. His eyes never strayed from the gaping moon as he ascended ever upward, midway between the heavens and the earth. The soft momentum they travelled at gradually got slower almost coming to a halt in mid air then a single fairy sped from the cushion of orbs beneath him and stopped before his nose making him flinch. "O' little star, we cannot carry you any longer, our wings are so tired and the moon is still so far!" spoke the fairy with a mournful tone. Falkor thought then of his mother's warming gaze she first greeted him with and he longed to be with her again. "Thank you for helping me my singing friends, I'll return to hear your music again when I get my mother from the moon."

With those departing words, his bursting determination forced him on. He spanned his bat-like wings and thrusted forwards. The cloud of fairies scattered and fell away back to the ground, looking like a hundred candle lamps falling down a well. At first he struggled to guess the correct motion of his wings to control his flight, but he persevered, and onward he flew towards the moon in the clumsy fashion of a hatchling dragon.


	5. Glance of the Childlike Empress

**Glance of the Childlike Empress**

The night lingered on for what seemed like an eternity for Falkor and the moon never got any closer. He felt as though his wings had turned too lead as he urged them to propel him upward. His breathing was heavy, the air had gotten so thin that he would have been better trying to quench his thirst from a dry stream than to try and relieve his lungs with that deceptive air. The warmth of his body was so immense he began to imagine his blood was boiling. His neck and wings burned with exhaustion. The astral lights before him blurred as his vision failed and he desperately grasped to his consciousness, threatening to be swept away by the tides of weariness. Unyielding though his spirit was, the errand was too much for the dragon hatchling. His body gave in to overwhelming fatigue. Catching a last glimpse of the moon only a tail's length from his grasp, a black curtain shrouded the entire world from him.

Then a dream flashed into his mind. A white blossom bloomed, openings it's petals and radiating with silver rays of light. A stair descended from the blossom. As the light faded a little girl dressed in white, her skin pale as snow and a silver circlet rested on her brow, stepped out of the blossom and with the grace of a swan she strode down towards him. An Amulet hung from her neck, but Falkor did not take time to study it's features. The girl's child-like voice echoed in his mind and she smiled tenderly at him.

"Falkor, you stopped the wizard of the Orchid Forest from killing lots of people in Fantasia. How did you do it, do you know?"

Falkor stared back in wonderment, "Have you seen my mother? I flew to the moon to find her, is she here? Please tell me little singing friend! She is a great dragon just like me!"

The little girl laughed "I am not a fairy, like those little helpers you had, I am the keeper of AURYN. Your mother called me The Childlike Empress, like all the people of Fantasia. She came to me to find out what your name would be and I told her. But tell me now Falkor, how do you think you saved all the people of Fantasia?"

He remembered well how his mother spoke of this and now absorbed her words intently, and realised the authority behind them. He forgot his concern for his mother and dwelt on the question he was asked. "I don't remember doing that or anything about a greedy wizard!"

"With luck!" she broke in. "You have great determination, and your love for your mother is very strong. But, with luck, you saved many people of Fantasia from dying in a terrible battle. And now Falkor your gift will be needed greatly in a much bigger story, yet to be read. With luck now Falkor, my dear Luck Dragon, you will never fail in another adventure that you meet from this day. It is sad about you mother, but you live on Falkor."

Her humorous smile had now changed. She had a grand imperious look about her, but still Falkor felt happy in her presence and wished that moment would never end. He felt like the weight of the world was lifted off him, as free as a cloud to drift wherever the winds should take him. He felt like a new dragon.


	6. Song of the Luckdragon

**Song of the Luckdragon**

Falkor awoke, as one would from a dream, questioning if what he remembered was real or imagination. He found himself on a bed of grass and heather. Then he noticed many hundreds of creatures about him. No two of them looked alike but he seemed to be able to match a name to each one as his eyes glanced over the crowd. "A Giant, a night-hob, a jacky-lantern, a woody-spriggen, a hooply bear, a quarrel-sloth, a dancing banshee….." He was suddenly showered with loud cheers from the throng surrounding him. A tremor of joy ran through him and he took to the skies. There was a difference about his flying that he could not pick out, but he felt lighter than the air. All those who dwelt on the ground witnessed the first Luckdragon swim high above the Ivory Tower, his pearly scales glittering in the distance. Their joyous cheers continued for a while, but then were silenced with an awe that swept across the crowd. Falkor began to sing. As magnificent as the humming chime of a bronze bell, his voice poured from his booming maw and flowed down through the gardens and the labyrinth, then ricocheted off the surrounding landscape. Every night thereafter, for all who revelled in the song that night, Falkor's soul warming melody carried them off to sleep and resounded in their dreams. They cherished the memory of Falkors flight and song among the most precious treasures in their minds and clung to it even onto the abyss of the unknown after their time in Fantasia came to an end.

The sun sank behind the horizon, ending the day in unison with the fading of Falkors song. The Luck dragon glided to the ground and rested by a pond in the garden. A starry dome roofed over the Ivory Tower. The gardens below where illuminated with scattered bonfires, torches and candles. Songs of merriment filled the night as the people of Fantasia celebrated. Trees sprouted from the ground and stretched their branches close to the fires to warm their leaves from the bite of the cold air, forming a fluttering roof over the gardens. All the creatures gambolled and danced in the fashion that suited each of them. The goat-legged fauns joined hands with the tree spirits and frolicked around the bonfires like summer lambs. A willow o' the wisp zoomed and whizzed between bodies and trees with a trail of shimmering gold dust following it. A toad tongued scamp flipped, spun, somersaulted and rolled from tree tops and all about the new groves in the garden. A group of lake-marsh trolls threw massive rock boulders to each other in a playful game. But while many caused the gardens to writhe with activity, others sat around and feasted or sang or told stories. Falkor remained by the pond, which now had a luminous glow about it, full of life but as still frost blessed lake. His ruby red eyes twinkled off the pond's glassy surface.

"How do you fly Flakor if you have no wings?" asked a pixie-shroom elf, enthralled by his silky white lion-like mane and his pearly pink and white scales. She sat on a lily pad floating on the water and bathed her feet. She wore a petal woven dress and snowy blossoms bloomed in her sunset coloured braids that hung past her shoulders.

"Hmm. I don't know. How does a cloud fly without wings?" replied Falkor. She tackled the question with all her effort, as she frowned and looked towards the sky, but to no avail.

"Ho now! I've never seen a cloud fall like a rock out of the sky, and don't try to tell me that they do! How then, can you compare yourself with a cloud after that?" spoke a stout old man, seated on a large mushroom cap smoking a wooden pipe. He was dressed in a red jacket and a green high cap with a feather in it rested on his head.

"Huh? I don't remember that! Luckdragons don't fall out of the sky! Why would you say that about me?" demanded Falkor.

"That doesn't surprise me at all. You hit the greedy wizard like sack of spuds!" said the old man.

When Falkor maintained his puzzled expression his company realised that he honestly didn't remember and got quite concerned for him. A reed-hog with duck feathers on his back stood on his hind legs and proposed, "Please Falkor, tells us what you do remember. I would like to know where you came from."

"A wonderful idea Mr. Reed-hog!" gasped the pixie-shroom elf.

"A fair proposal my feathered friend. What do you say my dear Luckdragon?" said the old man.

Then Falkor nodded in agreement and gathered his thoughts. Quite a number of other creatures gathered about the pond's edge when they overheard that Falkor was going to tell a story.

"I remember the moon." he began. "It was so big and round, I wanted to grab it form the sky…"

"Oh yes! The moon is so lovely!" interrupted the pixie-shroom elf now bursting with admiration for Falkor.

"Quiet Elfy! I want to hear Falkor tell the story!" grunted the old man.

"Don't talk like that to her! Why don't you keep that pipe between your chops so I can hear the story?" said the reed-hog. The pixie-shroom elf covered her mouth to tame a fitful giggle. The old man's face beamed red as he jumped to his feet and rolled up his sleeves, shaking one fist at the reed-hog.

"So I flew. I flew all night and my wings where very tired. I never did catch the moon from the sky. It seems a silly thing to do now, I wonder what came over me?" continued Falkor. At that moment, a score furffinchirps fluttered from their tree perches and onto Falkor's back. They hopped about like robins hunting for worms in the grass. It then occurred to the pixie-shroom elf that they where in fact looking for Falkor's wings. She simply found the act hilarious, and with her outburst of laughter she fell off the lily pad and into the water with so little a sound, that it would be an exagerationto call it a splash. Everyone else was more interested in hearing Falkor's story than paying her any attention.

"Then she came and she glanced at me." said Falkor.

"Who? The pixie-shroom elf?" asked the reed-hog, and before Falkor could answer she spluttered out of the water "Me? Of course! I love to look at Falkor. His eyes are very shiny."

"The Childlike Empress. She glanced at me and made me a new dragon."

The old man spat his pipe to the ground and blurted "Flickle–tums and canterhoofs!"

"Oi! Mind your tongue or I'll have to wash your mouth out with that fancy hat! There is no need for….Falkor! You met the Childlike Empress?" the reed-hog said, his mouth gaping.

"You really are lucky dragon!" added the pixe-shroom elf.

"And then I was here in the gardens of the Ivory Tower. I was so happy I wanted to fly and sing all day." said Falkor.

"And that you did! Well done Falkor! A fine story indeed! You are almost as good at story telling as us cluricaunes. Are you sure that's all you remember?" said the old man.

"Yes." said Falkor after a quick reassuring thought.

The cluricaune gave a smug grin and grasped the collar of his jacket saying,"Well, there is only one remedy for that aliment…" By this time the furffinchirps had abandoned all hope of finding Falkor's wings and hopped around to face him. They suddenly burst into a chorus of chirping and tweeting and their wings flailed about over their heads. Whatever they were trying tell Falkor, they were crudely forced to abandon any hope of translation and take flight as the fat old cluricaun shooed them off. "Ahhrrg! Be gone ye pesky birds!" he growled waving his hands.

"No! They were telling Falkor that he doesn't have any wings! Why would you scare them away?" said the pixie-shroom elf now sitting comfortably on her lily pad again.

"Because!" the cluricaun exclaimed. "I want to tell Falkor the story about the greedy wizard! He just said he didn't know about it and I don't think any of you can tell story as good as me, so if you don't mind shutting up for a while I…"

The reed-hog interrupted, "Ha! That hat must be softening your head if you really think I'm going to sit and listen to you. I will tell the story! I at least wasn't sleeping when the wizard almost destroyed us…"

"No, no!" said the pixie-shroom elf. "I want to tell the story. My friends always tell me that I'm good at telling stories…"

"And what friends might they be little Elfy? Eh?" asked the cluricaun slyly.

"The toads, dragonflies and -oh!- the little tadpoles… and stop calling me Elfy my name is Willowlune!" she replied with flaring annoyance.

"Oh! Willowlune! That's a nice name!" said Falkor savouring the word like a sugar lump in his mouth. She was very fond of Falkor and she was so flattered by his remark that she did not speak again until she overcame her shyness, finding it impossible now to meet his eyes with her own.

"Do we look like toads and tadpoles? I should think not! Im going to start telling the story now so be quiet." said the cluricaun pointing his finger and remained like a statue for a moment of silence, almost expecting an objection.

"Wouldn't you rather smoke your pipe and leave us to tell the story?" said the reed-hog braking the silence.

That last remark sparked another quarrelling exchange between the creatures, but eventually they agreed that they should take turns telling their own parts of the story. If I where to describe the story in their words and include all the interruptions and misunderstandings I could fill a good sized novel. It would be better for you to hear the story from Stargazer's point of view, for he understood all that happened perhaps better than the Childlike Empress herself…


	7. A Stroke of Luck

**A Stroke of Luck**

Alone, Stargazer stood on the highest balcony of the Ivory Tower as he did at the rise of the sun each morning to observe and admire the ever-changing landscape of Fantasia. Like a water droplet in a restless ocean, you would never find a patch of dirt, a tree stump or granite rock in the same place you looked the day before. He allowed his thoughts to been engrossed in the view from that high point. The gardens and the labyrinth lay at the foot of the Ivory Tower and spanned out in all directions to a vast green plain peppered with lonely trees and shrubs. The Orchid Forest loomed menacingly on the horizon evoking the words of the prophecy to mind.

For many tiresome hours, a council of the wisest in Fantasia contemplated on the words of the prophesy that Stargazer was told by the stars. Again and again it tugged at his mind, an unsolved puzzle that tormented him when he tried to ignore it.

"Lord of Horok Castle, the Seeing hand,

AURYN in the Wizards eyes of greed,

He drives beasts of magic, black metal-clad.

From the orchid forest, the carnivorous expanse…

Battle horns sound!

Trust not in shields and swords of steel,

For a blessing of luck the skies shall send thee."

The council bickered and quarrelled about it, wondered and meditated on it, and when no agreement could be made on its meaning, all the people of Fantasia were told the prophesy, and permitted to take what action they found suitable for whatever they made from the illusory riddle. Some dismissed it idly as some foolish paranoia. Some went about crafting weapons of war and prepared battle plans, dismissing the prophecy's warning whether they understood it or not.. Many had faith in the authority of the Childlike Empress, that she simply wouldn't allow anyone to harm her people. While others thought she was angry with them and brought the Childlike Empress fine gifts from all over Fantasia such as rare plants, performing animals and magical objects, in an effort to please her. But to their discovery, she was already quite happy as her laughter rang out from the white pavilion in amusement of their visit.

Despite everyone's guesses and interpretations, the prophesy unveiled itself freely before the wise centaur, yet relief was swept further from the embrace of his burdened heart. From the distant Orchard Forest, the unmistakable piercing howl of a winded horn spread over the green plain and alerted everyone in and about the Ivory Tower. There was a cold silence and all eyes looked to the horizon in hope that their ears had betrayed them. But soon, they where made sure that they where not that fortunate. The earth at their feet began to tremor as they observed a black mass emerging on the far edge of the green plain. The dwarves beat their war drums, summoning many warriors armed to their teeth. Ranks of hundreds formed on the outskirts of the Ivory Tower gardens, a shimmering stream of silver under a forest of standards ands banners. They marched forward to meet the black mass that advanced upon them.

From the leading ranks of the formation, a twiskerhoof mouse scouted ahead departing from them at a startling speed, that you would only expect from a small rodent fleeing the talons of a winged predator, to see the enemy at a closer range. Coming to an abrupt stop he raised his front forelegs off the ground and stood as tall as he could like a meerkat sniffing at the air. He observed a horde of black metal giants pressing towards them. Amidst the lines of giants he saw what he guessed was the greedy wizard. He sat in a grand chariot driven by steeds of black metal, much like the giants around them.

Looking on with horror, Stargazer remained at his high watch point. The army that set out from the Ivory Tower was dwarfed by the opposing force. After an excruciating number of seconds, the metallic clash of weapons on armour sang the melodies of fatal blows. Stargazer cringed as the battle unfolded before him in the distance. The black giants manoeuvred to advance upon the left and right flanks of the Ivory Tower's army. The giants where strong, but were not gifted with speed. Their plan to surround the smaller army was foiled as they turned and fled back to the Ivory tower. The skirmish had done nothing to hinder the greedy wizard's army.

Stargazer felt helpless as the ravenous lake of black metal enveloped all the land as far as an eagle's eye could see. Everyone had now retreated in the refuge of the Ivory Tower, as the black metal giants marched to the very walls. The wizard in his grand chariot sifted between the ranks of the giants and halted in the garden at the foot of the tower, marvelling at it's shear height as he looked upwards. His shrill voice could barely be heard from some of the lowest levels of the tower but still he convinced himself in his ambitious quest for power that all could hear him.

"Come down Childlike Empress! I have come to claim AURYN! Give it to me now and I will leave you in peace. Heed my words! If you deny me the amulet the Ivory Tower will not stand to see another day."

For a silent moment nothing stirred, not even the wind dared to speak. The old wizard was infuriated by the lack of response; no spoken words could have boiled his blood more. Even now in his rage, his voice barely echoed off the tower's walls.

"Don't you understand? I will destroy the Ivory Tower! AURYN will be mine! Come down and don't be fool…"

Just then a white object hissed as it fell at immense speed from the sky with a tail of golden light. The greedy wizard stood in his chariot, too occupied with his rant to react. It struck him square on the head, separating it from his shoulders, then fired onto the grass carpet beneath the chariot and rolled across the garden. The headless body of the wizard stood lifeless in it's imperious pose the wizard took on during his outburst of fury. Shards of radiant of light beamed from statue-like figure as all life drained from him. A stone husk remained, then it crumbled to dust. The vast black ocean; the metal host of giants, turned to ash and were swept from the land with a backwash of wind, cleansing the landscape.

Stargazer gaped in disbelief as the occurrence unfolded; his prediction was not ramblings of an old goat-fish after all. "A stroke of luck indeed, and it could not have chosen a later time to come, for our doom sat at our doorstep." Cries of victory broke out and the garden below flurried with life, gathering about the white object. "Dragon! Dragon!...."

When Falkor heard the story in much detail from the creatures, the night had faded into the early morning. There isn't many a person who would have had the patience to sit through a story told in such a way, but Falkor relished every word they uttered. "So that's what she meant! How else could such a thing happen? With luck…" was Falkor's first response, dwelling on the words. "Thank you my friends! Now would you like to climb on my back and I will take you for a morning flight?"

"Oh! Would I?" gasped Willowlune scrambling onto his back after a short swim across the pond. The cluricaun and the reed-hog followed along with a few other creatures that remained silent the entire night. Even the furffinchirps hopped upon his back. "How will you carry us all Falkor?" asked the reed-hog. As he took off to the sky he chuckled and winked one eye saying, "With luck!"


End file.
